Sambanda Mudaliar, father of Tamil theatre, infused quality and structure

From the days of Sekkilar’s Periyapuranam in the Kulothunga Chola reign, the river Adyar has consistently prodded Madras to become a cultural nerve centre. Novels like Ponniyin Selvan, dance forms like Bharathanatyam, cultural movements like the Tamil Isai movement all originated on the Adyar banks.

Dramatics too got a fillip for important amongst these Adyar side littérateurs was Pammal Sambanda Mudaliar, whose name is popular to the present generation because of the tribute paid by Kamal Haasan in one of his movie titles.

It usual for some forms of art to lose its sheen over time and it is up to certain individuals to redeem it in the public eye. The earlier form of stage Tamil theatre till 1900 was considered disreputable. It was staged in ramshackle auditoriums, by actors who were called as Koothadis — a derogatory term. The actors never followed a fixed script and plays dragged on late into the tight till the audience were tired of it. Women and people from higher strata of society usually avoided these spots

Sambandam’s father had a large library at home and his mother who put young Sambandam to sleep daily by narrating a tale from Ramayana or Kandapuranam developed in him a love for storytelling. Studying to be a lawyer, Sambandam would watch Telugu plays and come out of the theatre in a veritable stage of creative excitement. Wanting to do the same for Tamil theatre he founded the Suguna Vilas Sabha (SVS).

In the 1880s, 3.14 acres of the People’s Park had been leased a citizens trust to build a town hall. Maharajahs and zamindars flocked to be among donors for Chisholm’s Indo-Sarcenic building. Madras decided to name the hall after Queen Victoria the very next year. Over the years, it hosted speakers ranging from Gandhi to Bharathi, Vivekananda to Gokhale. The first Madras cinema show was staged here on cyclonic night too.

For 30 years, SVS was closely associated with the hall till it built its own theatre next to Cosmopolitan Club. Pammal, a prolific dramatist wrote 100 plays, some even adapted from Shakespeare. Many were made into films as well with many actors in Tamil cinema moved to the silver screen after having acted in one of his plays.

At one point of time, Pammal insisted that only university graduates can act. He emphasised the point by putting an embroidered senate house piece on the stage curtain. Consequently, actors began to gain respect and fans. And this attitude was taken up in the film industry as well. Actors like Satyamurthi, R K Shanmukam Chettiar and CP Ramaswamy Aiyar came forward to act for him.

In the beginning, however, this initiative was not successful. Sambandam’s first play was Pushpa Valli and it was called off as vacant chairs outnumbered the ones occupied. But Sambandam had a never-say-die attitude. He bore with the audience’s disinterest and released a series of plays. They were first staged by SVS and then picked up by other drama troupes all over the presidency.

His rehashing of Romeo Juliet as Jwalita Ramanan, Macbeth as Makapathi, Merchant of Venice as Vannipurathu Vanigan brought the bard of Avon close to Tamil audiences. Amaladityan, was a variation of Hamlet, but was not liked by the audience. Then Mudaliar — who always knew what would click with the masses — rewrote it as Manohara which was well received by the audience.

Mudaliar altered the structure of drama by insisting on clearly demarcated acts and placed an emphasis on dialogues rather than songs. He fixed a time duration for the plays and ensured actors did not stray from the written dialogue. Importance was given to realistic acting and emphasis was given to visually attractive background sets and scenery.

The SVS believed in having men dress as women to play female characters. Krishna Iyer, who took up roles by heroines after being urged by the director, learned Sathir from devadasis and introduced it as Barathanatyam to the larger audience through music academy.

The Pammal family had a long connection with the Kapaleeshwarar temple of Mylapore for having been appointed trustees by the British. The present day structure of the Mylapore temple was developed in Pammal Sambandam’s time, especially the tall gopuram in the east and a perfected temple tank with paved steps.